Passenger aircraft currently in use comprise a pressurized cabin, the internal pressure of which while flying is maintained for example by means of an air conditioning system, which is supplied with air drawn from the engines, at a pressure level that is raised compared to the ambient pressure, i.e. the reduced atmospheric pressure at high altitudes. Generally the pressure in the interior of the cabin of a passenger aircraft while the aircraft is flying, i.e. when the aircraft is at cruising altitude, usually corresponds approximately to the atmospheric pressure at an altitude of 8000 ft (ca. 2400 m). The conditioning air supplied by the aircraft air conditioning system is conventionally fed into the cabin through air inlet ducts, which open out into the cabin above the passenger seats in the region of ceiling lining panels and/or side lining panels of the cabin lining. The exhaust air from the cabin is discharged as a rule through air outlet ducts, which are disposed in the region of a cabin floor or a portion of the side lining panels that is situated near the floor. In order in the event of decompression, i.e. in the event of a pressure drop in an area of the aircraft cabin that is maintained at a raised pressure during flying, to prevent damage to the cabin lining, in particular to the side lining panels, in a decompression situation a pressure compensation has to be possible between the area of the aircraft cabin that is affected by the decompression and an area that is delimited by the panels, in particular the side lining panels, of the cabin lining and the aircraft outer skin.
For example an air outlet duct, which during normal operation of the aircraft is used to discharge exhaust air from the cabin into the area delimited by the panels of the cabin lining and the aircraft outer skin and then for example into an underfloor area of the aircraft, may in the event of decompression provide for a pressure compensation between the area of the aircraft cabin that is affected by the decompression and the area that is delimited by the panels of the cabin lining and the aircraft outer skin. As the air outlet duct may then however not only be optimized with regard to its function as an exhaust air discharge duct during normal operation of the aircraft but has to be designed in such a way that in the event of decompression it enables a sufficiently rapid pressure compensation between the area of the aircraft cabin that is affected by the decompression and the area that is delimited by the panels of the cabin lining and the aircraft outer skin, an air outlet duct that is used both as an exhaust air discharge duct and as a pressure compensation duct usually has comparatively poor acoustic properties. This may lead to an impairment of the comfort of the passengers in the aircraft cabin.
As an alternative to this, aircraft cabin lining panels of the type described in the non-prior publication DE 10 2007 061 433 may be provided with a screen, through which during normal operation of the aircraft exhaust air from the cabin is conveyed into a recirculation air duct of an aircraft air conditioning system. Disposed in an area of the aircraft that is separated from the cabin by the screen is a decompression element having a flap, which in the event of decompression releases a pressure compensation opening between the cabin and an area that is delimited by cabin lining panels and an aircraft outer skin.
Finally it is known to equip aircraft cabin lining panels, such as for example dado panels, with an integrated flap mechanism, which in the event of decompression releases a pressure compensation opening between an area of the aircraft cabin that is affected by the decompression and an area that is delimited by the panels of the cabin lining and the aircraft outer skin.
These currently used assemblies however have the drawback that they are often subject to misuse loads, such as for example foot treads or the like, and therefore have to be of a relatively rugged design. This leads to unwanted additional weight and to a greater overall volume of the lining panels. The increased installation space requirement of the panels results in a reduction of the cabin width and hence has a direct adverse effect upon the comfort of the passengers in the aircraft cabin. Finally, lining panels equipped with a pressure compensation flap are of a relatively complicated and hence fault-prone and high-maintenance construction.